# Page 4 | Surpass Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra

> Page 4 - Is Surpass the right Library Automation solution for you? Explore 128 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice.

Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/10010536/Surpass/reviews

---

Surpass

4.8 (128)

Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/)

* * *

Last updated March 13th, 2026

# Page 4 - Reviews of Surpass

## Showing most helpful reviews

Showing 76-100 of 128 Reviews

Sort by:

Most Helpful

Rating

Company Size

Reviewer's Role

Length of Use

Frequency of Use

JM

Jane M.  
Church librarian  
  
Used the software for: 1-2 years

### "Top Notch Software!"

December 9, 2016

5.0

I volunteered to help the church move the library and catalog their books into the Surpass system last year. I worked in a school library for over twenty years, so felt I could help them get the job done. My library at the school used the Follett system, therefore, I was able to figure out the Surpass system with a little help from your staff. I feel that your staff is very approachable and easily understands my problems and to helped me to work through them. We opened the library last Sunday morning. We had 89 patrons fill out a registration form for a patron number and many checked out their own books at the self-checkout station. The patrons were very impressed with the Surpass system. We are purchasing the Safari application and I am very excited to show the patrons how the Search for an author or book and enter a book into the Bookbag feature. I feel that Safari is a necessary component for the library to run smoothly, especially when a volunteer staff person is not available.

Pros

The Self-Check feature.

Cons

Waiting for the Marc Record to be found. Some times the search takes a long time.

Review Source

MS

Misti S.  
Media Specialist  
Education Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Surpass support is awesome!"

August 8, 2016

5.0

Surpass has the best customer service and support! When I have a question about the Surpass Central product, they provide a variety of ways that I can contact them to reach out for help. The customer representatives are knowledgeable and thorough! They are fast to respond and follow-up to make sure that your product needs are met!

Pros

The software is user-friendly. Surpass makes it easy for a volunteer to step in and help on the spur of the moment!

Review Source

SD

Susan D.  
assistant librarian  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "I do not handle the financial information for our software."

February 9, 2018

4.0

Pros

Ease of use with regard to all of the materials and patron areas. Several different ways to verify information and records.

Cons

Some of setup settings, but those have been discussed with software company for ways to make it more manageable for end users.

Review Source

JR

James R.  
Principal  
  
Used the software for:

### "Should have Passed"

March 4, 2013

1.0

Go elsewhere unless you have money to burn.

Pros

The program works well but everything costs.

Cons

It takes a ridiculous amount of time to enter new books. The program will do it for you for an extra cost. We paid the extra cost and after 6 months, it still doesn't work. Very disappointing and looking to change programs.

Review Source

Response from Surpass Software

March 25, 2013

Quickly entering new materials by downloading from the web can be done for FREE with our Quick Cataloging feature. What the school paid for was to renew expired support, not for this free feature. The feature did not work because the school firewall blocked it. This has since been resolved. Also note that this review was NOT written by a Surpass user, but by the principal. So ratings on things like "feature richness" are not fair or appropriate. He also gave 1 star for "Ease of Implementation" yet he was not even at the school when the system was implemented in 2002. Lastly, he rated Support at 1 star, yet never had any contact with our support. Instead, the librarian contacted support and was given details on how their technicians should resolve the issue with their firewall, which they eventually did. In a phone call, she said she was pleased with our very responsive and very helpful support. Ratings seem unfairly harsh given "program works well" comment under "Pros."

PM

Pamela M.  
Resource Advisor  
Legal Services  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Surpass has never let us down. We enjoy having chosen Surpass years ago. "

August 8, 2017

5.0

This program brought our library into the 20th/21st Centuries. Before Surpass, we used a crude, cumbersome program.

Pros

It works. It is always "up" and only when operator error occurs or staff with steep learning curves do we need assistance.

Review Source

MF

Mary F.  
Librarian  
Education Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Support Back up"

October 19, 2016

5.0

I was not able to back up to the cloud so I sent an email to Support. I received an answer on how to correct the issue with great instructions and within a few hours! Great service!

Pros

The database and barcodes

Review Source

NM

Nancy M.  
Assistant Director  
  
Used the software for:

### "Surpass Software - a mix of intuitive and nonintuitive programming"

June 6, 2015

3.0

Customer service: Friendly, knowledgeable people who respond promptly to phone and emails. (Chats, not so much.) Con - if you have a problem after hours or on Saturday, you have to wait until business hours. Circulation tasks are easily done, with the new color coding for each task making them even more user-friendly. If the sounds could ever be programmed to reflect what is actually happening, it could be a really competitive system. Copycat is a terrific module for accessing MARC records; it allows you to quickly compare records from multiple sources and choose the best available. Safari is an example of the grossly non-intuitive for patron usage. It's slow, requires too many steps to filter well, and doesn't allow for filtering within a category. Patron's often don't find materials that we actually have, and staff never uses it. Biggest problems: reports are frustrating to set up properly, and the ones provided by the company aren't particularly useful for a public library. Perhaps the single biggest problem is the inability to make batch changes to records, although we've found some work-arounds by pasting in barcodes from a spreadsheet created by exported reports.

Review Source

RB

Robin B.  
Media Specialist  
Libraries  
Used the software for: Less than 6 months

### "Excellent Customer Support"

October 29, 2020

4.0

Great!

Pros

I found the transition from the former edition of Surpass to the cloud-based version to be very smooth.

Cons

As an administrator. I would appreciate help pop-ups or something like that. All I had to do was visit "Settings" and "make visible," to fix my problem. The pop-up was "you must choose at least one category," and only the heading "Category" appeared. The pop-up could have suggested this, " Try "Settings," "Categories," then edit to "Make Visible." Just a suggestion. :)

Review Source

DB

Debby B.  
Church Librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "Surpass is Excellent for Small Church Libraries as well as other types of businesses"

February 2, 2016

5.0

I recently upgraded our small church library software (it hadn't been upgraded since 2008). Every person I talked to was patient, knowledgeable and efficient. The tech guy (Ron) had been with the company since before 2008, so the process seemed easy from his end. He stayed with me on the phone as he upgraded and answered all my questions, as if I was the only customer for the day. I just ordered a scanner from Surpass to make my job easier (I had done the first wave of cataloging without one). The yearly price for tech support was probably used by that ticket alone. The product prices are/were relatively easy to handle, too. This is a great company and I am glad I went with them. I am a retired school librarian, so am familiar with cataloging software. This does everything I need it to do. I wish the scanner was wireless, but then I probably would not be able to afford it. So am just happy to have one I could afford that is 100% compatible with the software out of the box. They set the bar with Customer Service!

Review Source

LB

Laura B.  
Media Specialist  
  
Used the software for:

### "Absolutely Excellent!"

January 20, 2009

5.0

Absolutely Excellent!

Pros

I cannot say enough good things about this product. Ease of use - I taught my granddaughter to check books in and out when she was in kindergarten. I routinely have high school aides who use the system with ease after only one short lesson. Customer service - wonderful wonderful. In over 15 years of use, they have never let me down. They speak English (not computer) and can easily explain how to solve your particular problem. They always get back in touch with you - usually in a matter of minutes but never more than a few hours. Every feature we have asked for has been added and the price so far has basically remained the same. Absolutely wonderful product - would recommend this product to ANYONE.

Cons

If the rest of my life worked this well, I'd be one happy camper.

Review Source

RS

Robert S.  
Librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "Great Choice"

October 1, 2013

5.0

We switched several years ago from an archaic and arcane DOS-based nightmare of a system (a castoff system from a well-known library supply company). Surpass is easy to use and has many features any librarian would seek in a system. Quick Cataloging (free in Central) covers 90%+ of cataloging needs, and CopyCat covers the rest and is worth the small cost. The online catalog search system (Safari) is wonderful, easily customized, and for a little over $100 a year you can get the Surpass Selections, which gives you cover images, reviews and more. There is cost involved (like any system), but the cost is consistent with industry standards, and you get a lot for the money. What I find the best about the company, though, is its support. They are very quick and responsive, and best of all listen to the customers when upgrading the system, incorporating requested features. It's when things aren't going perfectly that a company's true nature is shown, and Surpass is tops in service!

Review Source

JS

Josh S.  
Deacon  
Religious Institutions  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Great software"

February 20, 2017

5.0

Support is the best! And it does what its supposed to, and very well. Our church library has been run off of this software for many years now. Highly recommended!

Pros

Great support. Simple, straightforward functionality.

Cons

If something does go wrong, the error messages are sometimes not very helpful.

Review Source

LB

Luke B.  
IT Director  
Primary/Secondary Education  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Up to par software, great customer service"

March 6, 2017

4.0

We've used Surpass for a few years now. The features and stability of the product are good, but the customer service and support enabled us to learn and know how to stay on top of our library.

Pros

ease of use, ease of installation

Cons

It's not entirely running through a web browser. It can be slow at times.

Review Source

EK

Ellen K.  
  
Education Management  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Easy Library Set up and Usage- Get Surpass"

March 2, 2017

5.0

Surpass is easy to use and provides a wonderful library process for our school and our students. All the staff at Surpass are friendly, helpful, and caring to their customers and take care of all your needs in a timely manner.

Pros

Ease of use and support received from Surpass

Review Source

TM

Terri M.  
Librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "great software"

January 27, 2014

4.0

I love, love, love, this software a lot. I'm so glad the school decided to update my software with Surpass. The ease of processing the books and maintaining the student records is so much faster with only I screen to look at, but I do see a small room for improvements went it comes to checking in and out. I would had gave surpass a 5 star review but for a few issues i'm have getting use to how their circulation screen works. I don't like that when I check students card for lates before they come day to library,that I need to get the mouse and go back to the parton and click on it again. My old software as soon as you hit enter it was ready for the next student. I find this is taking me longer to get done before the next grade comes in. Over all I would tell anyone to get Surpass well worth it.

Review Source

JI

Judy I.  
Media Specialist  
  
Used the software for:

### "Surpass software"

March 14, 2013

5.0

I have used Surpass since the early 90s and have always been pleased with my choice. They have continued to respond to librarians' requests and needs by modifying and adding features to their software. They have excellent technical support also - techs are knowledgeable and patient, too. When I came to this system, they were using it and I was able to step right in and use it.

Pros

Excellent cataloging features, especially being able to use Copycat to add new titles. Versatile report formats to evaluate collection and circulation. Frequent upgrades which improve the card catalog, inventory and circulation features.

Cons

Do not have problems that company can't resolve.

Review Source

JD

Judy D.  
Art Librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "Problem solved in a flash!"

March 25, 2013

5.0

This is an excellent product that does everything it claims to. The support team is the best I've ever seen for any computer product--and I've been in this field for over 30 years.

Pros

At about 11:45 today I emailed a support question concerning a problem with temporary barcodes. About 10 minutes later I received an email from an agent that clearly described to me how to fix the problem. I followed his instruction and my system is now working perfectly. I am amazed at how fast Surpass is at handling customer issues. Keep up the great work!

Cons

No downside to Surpass.

Review Source

SM

Shirley M.  
Media Specialist  
  
Used the software for:

### "Surpass support for lost password."

August 7, 2013

5.0

I sent a rapid response email first. The reply came in under 10 minutes that I needed to call their support line due to security issues. I call and got a message that they had a very high call volume. I understand this with the start of the school year. I was given the option of leaving a call back number that saved my place in line. This is a nice option!! My call was returned in about 5 minutes. I felt foolish for forgetting my admin password. The representative was very nice and helped me reset it with no problem. Overall, this was one of the best tech support service experience I have had.

Review Source

wA

wendy A.  
District Librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "Busy librarian!"

October 2, 2013

5.0

I manage five libraries in our school district. Of all the vendors that I have come in contact with, Surpass has THE BEST support team. Issues are addressed quickly. In addition, Surpass LISTENS to librarians who have new ideas and suggestions for improvements. Currently, we are hosted which provides a secure place for our records and scheduled maintenance. The only problem with being hosted is on our district end. We have problems maintaining our connection to the hosted site when internet traffic is heavy. Overall, I would highly recommend Surpass!

Review Source

AK

April K.  
Sr. Minister  
  
Used the software for: 2+ years

### "Great Support and a Solid Performing Product for Church Libraries"

August 4, 2016

5.0

My church has had Surpass CL for at least five years, and I love it. My first career was librarianship, so when I chose Surpass, I did my research, and I have not been disappointed!

Pros

Surpass CL is easy to use, even for those without prior experience.

Cons

Some screens could be enhanced with more on-screen tips.

Review Source

LZ

Lois Z.  
School librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "Complete satisfaction"

March 29, 2013

5.0

I would be glad to share my Surpass experiences with anyone interested in purchasing this superior library automation system.

Pros

The Surpass system meets my every need, and the support is outstanding!

Cons

None - Surpass is perfect for my school.

Review Source

RR

Robby R.  
Director of Technology  
  
Used the software for:

### "Great Software Package! Great Customer Service! Great Tech Support!"

May 30, 2014

5.0

We recently purchased the Surpass Church Library software package. It is totally awesome! I had to call customer service for activation and I was pleasantly surprised at how helpful the customer service representative was. A few weeks later I had to call again for tech support was completely blown away at how polite, friendly, and attentive the individual was. He knew immediately how to solve my issue and within 3 to 4 minutes, I was back in business. Awesome service and support! Five Star plus 2!

Review Source

BH

Barbara H.  
Librarian  
  
Used the software for:

### "Why I Like Surpass"

September 17, 2015

5.0

I first got acquainted with Surpass when I started up-dating our church library. I looked at several different library systems, but decided to go with Surpass as we had an office locally. I am so happy I chose them as I have had excellent support and advise from Surpass, both local and long-distance. When I became the librarian at the elementary school, I was delighted that they also had their library with Surpass. Whenever I have a problem, I am able to get help to resolve it.

Review Source

CE

Cindy E.  
Media Specialist  
  
Used the software for:

### "Surpass is boss"

October 22, 2014

5.0

I've been a high school media specialist for over twenty years. Having come in to the teaching profession in the late 70's, I'm fairly proficient with technology but I didn't "come of age" with it, so I'm not an expert by any means. Surpass is user friendly, comes with great features, and you can't find better technical support. Admittedly, I can't make comparisons because I've never used any other school library software, but why would I want to? Happy customer for 20+ years.

Review Source

JL

Joan L.  
Chairman, Library Committee  
  
Used the software for:

### "Library Catalog"

April 24, 2013

5.0

An excellent program for our small collection.

Pros

We used Surpass to catalog a library collection of 2500 volumes and about 1500 patrons. The program was easy to learn and use and the company was helpful in getting us started.

Cons

The program is powerful and I haven't yet learned all that it is capable of. The support staff is great in helping me when I need to learn something new.

Review Source

Talk to a Capterra advisor for free and get results within 15 minutes.